More Meditation Over School Prayer

Georgia Compromise Satisfies Few

DECATUR, Ga. — When fellow classmates bow their heads for a state-mandated "moment of silent reflection," Ricky M. tries to focus his thoughts on playtime.

His parents have cautioned the 4th grader that to avoid ridicule and threats he must remain silent about his objections to the ritual that starts the school day.

"We are Quakers and are opposed to this law because of conflicts with our religion," said the boy's mother, who asked that she and her son not be identified by their real names or school affiliation. "Part of our form of worship is meditative silence and our concern is that by having a mandated, mechanized moment of silence our son's sense of what it means to be a Quaker is diminished.

". . .It is not the same as when we come together voluntarily in reflection and could give our son the impression that our meditations lack sincerity."

This Bible Belt town is a flash point in a longstanding war over the Constitution's call for separation of church and state, an emotionally charged battle expected to escalate next year following the sweep in congressional elections by conservative Republicans, many of whom support school prayer.

House Speaker-designate Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has backed away from a pledge to have a House vote by July 4 on a constitutional amendment authorizing school prayer. But last Thursday he again said he was considering convening congressional hearings in every state.

And though the debate over school prayer seems heated in Washington, a survey released by Times Mirror last week showed that only 33 percent of those questioned thought school prayer should be a high priority. Respondents' biggest concern was the economy.

President Clinton, after initially indicating he could support Republicans on the school prayer amendment, then said he favored a national moment-of-reflection law.

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and other conservatives failed to tack a school prayer amendment onto the recently passed federal school reform bill.

As governor of Arkansas, Clinton supported changing that state's school prayer statute in 1985 to a "moment of silent reflection" law after a Supreme Court decision banned school prayer.

Since a 1992 decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowing student-initiated and student-led voluntary prayer, school prayer bills have passed in Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama.

Georgia was emboldened by the passage of school prayer bills in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia since a 1992 decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowing student-initiated and -led voluntary prayer.

Alabama Gov.-elect Fob James, complaining the language of the new law is too vague, said he will issue an executive order after taking office in January reinstituting school prayer.

The Georgia legislature passed a law in February that requires school officials to "conduct a brief period of quiet reflection for not more than 60 seconds with the participation of all the pupils therein assembled" at the beginning of the school day.

The bill sent to the Georgia legislature was crafted to withstand a constitutional challenge, but it appeared to satisfy no one, least of all its sponsor, State Sen. David Scott whose call for a moment of reflection was inspired by rampant violence at public schools.

"The floor fight over the bill in the House made it clear that the Religious Right wanted a prayer bill," Scott said.

"I wanted a measure that would help kids, especially in urban schools racked by violence, orient their moral compasses."

Scott said that a compromise was reached when he agreed to language that said the state would not ban student-initiated voluntary prayers in school or at school-related events that were non-sectarian and non-proselytizing.

The bill also said if any portion of the law-once enacted-was found unconstitutional, that provision would be stricken and the rest would stay in effect.

Ralph Barker, a spokesman for American Vision, a conservative group based in Gwinnett County, said his organization disliked the law because "anybody can have any kind of prayer.

"The schools would be open to witchcraft, Satanism and New Age prayer, and I don't think this is what people want," he said.

In a letter to Scott, high school senior Danielle Wesmiller of Hampton, Ga. said: "I look at this time as a moment to gather my thoughts, to deep breathe, to slow down, and yes to pray and give thanks. I don't feel that I am forcing anyone or that any of my peers feel forced to pray."

Yet the law leaves some school officials in a quandary, especially in areas such as Dekalb County-of which Decatur is a part-where 14 percent of the students speak English as a second language and some, such as Asians and Arabs, are non-Christian.